Thought for the Day - Happy Birthday Ms Rowling!

"The idea of just wandering off to a cafe with a notebook and writing and seeing where that takes me for a while is just bliss."

~ J K Rowling

Gamebook Friday: YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2

As you may have guessed from the lack of regular posting on this blog of late, I've been rather busy finishing off YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2, the companion volume to 2014's award-winning YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks.

But on Wednesday of this week, less than four weeks after the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign concluded, YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 went to print, and hopefully the book will arrive in time for Fighting Fantasy Fest 2.

Just so you know, what was proposed as a 30,000 word-long book has ended up being over 65,000 words long and features almost as many images as Part 1! (Almost 400!)

What's even better is that the spines of the two volumes line up very nicely with each other, as this GIF demonstrates.

Here's a brief taster of what will be coming your way soon...

Thought for the Day

"I always start with a title, because it creates focus. When I find myself getting off track, I reassess and allow the title to illuminate plot and characterisation."

~ Rebecca Forster

Thought for the Day

Gamebook Friday: JG signing at The Yellow Book Bar, Brighton, on Sunday 16th July!

Rather short notice, I know, but I am delighted to be able to inform you that I shall be at The Yellow Book Bar, Brighton, from 10:00am on Sunday, 16th July 2017.

I shall be selling and signing copies of my second Pax Britannia steampunk omnibus, as well as my steampunk-inspired ACE Gamebooks, Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland and The Wicked Wizard of Oz!

It's not often I get down to the south coast, so if you're in Brighton, do pop along and say hello, or even better buy a book and get it signed.

Maybe I'll see you there...

Gamebook Friday: Celebrate 35 years of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks this September

This September, two events in particular are taking place to mark the 35th anniversary of the publication of the first Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

If you are in or around Ealing on the night of Friday 1st September, why not come around to You Are The Beer-O: Stout of the Pit, the regular meet-up for FF fans hosted by James Aukett?

On this occasion, You Are The Beer-O is teaming up with Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 to put on the world's first Fighting Fantasy pub quiz and raise money for the men's health charity Prostate Cancer UK, in memory of artist Kevin Bulmer, who illustrated Freeway Fighter, and who sadly succumbed to the disease in 2011.

You can find out more about the event here, on the event's Facebook page, and you can buy your ticket for the pub quiz here, through Eventbrite.

Please note that spaces are limited and this event is for over 18s only.

And then on Saturday 2nd September, at 9:00am sharp, the doors will be opening on Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 at the University of West London in Ealing, at which point attendees will be able to register, collect their backpacks, and enter the venue.

Following a welcome talk in a lecture theatre (that seats 300 people) the day will be filled with all manner of FF-related activities. There will be two separate strands of talks, featuring the creators of the original gamebook series as well as new companies taking Fighting Fantasy in new and interesting directions, and one of these is FoxYason Music Productions.

FoxYason Music Productions will be presenting the launch of the a new, exciting range of full-cast, original audio dramas, beginning in September, with the release of the first story in the series, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Members of the production team, plus cast, will be at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 to officially launch the range featuring interviews, clips, a Q&A and the plans for the future range.

Other highlights of the day will be Nomad Games showcase of Fighting Fantasy Legends, and inkle Studios taking attendees back to the world of Steve Jackson's Sorcery!, while the creative team behind Ian Livingstone's FREEWAY FIGHTER will be there to talk about the gestation of the very first Fighting Fantasy comic.

There will also be guest signings (and we do not charge for signatures at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2, in case you were wondering), role-playing game sessions, cosplay, an FF exhibition, numerous traders, a cafe and bar on site, and the opportunity to hang-out with fellow gamebook fans, as well as an auction of rare FF items!

With only seven weeks to go until the big day, make sure you don't delay and grab your tickets today!

Thought for the Day

"The modern writer really has no choice but to continue promoting his or her books."

~ Jody Hedlund

Gamebook Friday: Last chance to place a Late Pledge for YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2!

I'm nearing the end of writing YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2, and one of the last things I have to do is include the names of the people who have backed and supported the project so far.

If you would like a place a Late Pledge, and maybe have your name appear among the Acknowledgements, then you have until 12:00pm noon BST on Sunday 9th July.

Please note, if you put in a Late Pledge you will gain all the benefits of someone who backed the original Kickstarter. For example, any physical copies of YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2 will be hardbacks, you will also receive the prints that come with the £20 Gargoyle reward level and above, and if you back at the £50 Calacorm reward level or above you will also receive a pair of custom-made dice.

So don't delay - get your Late Pledge in today before it's too late!

Thought for the Day

"Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm."

~ Winston Churchill

Alice Day 2017

If you're a fan of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, adventure gamebooks, adult colouring books, or even steampunk, you could do a lot worse than check out the Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland line, published by Snowbooks, this Alice Day.

Click on the book covers below for more information and to purchase the titles.

Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland

(The first ACE Gamebook)

 Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland

(The Adult Colouring Book)

 

Through the Looking-Glass, and the Horrors Alice Found There

(Another Adult Colouring Book)